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NRL's Sharks in crisis, sack staff

Ian McCullough

On a stunning day of high drama, perennial NRL battlers Cronulla on Friday hit arguably the lowest ebb in the club's 45-year history.

The Sharks, who are at the centre of an investigation by the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority (ASADA), took the shock move of standing down coach Shane Flanagan while sacking team doctor David Givney, football manager Darren Mooney, head trainer Mark Noakes and physiotherapist Konrad Schultz.

Sharks deputy chairman Keith Ward and Dr Tricia Kavanagh, a former deputy chairperson of ASADA who's been assisting the Sharks with an investigation and legal review of club activities, fronted a hastily arranged and, at times, heated media conference on Friday evening.

Kavanagh was appointed after the Sharks were named last month following the release of an Australian Crime Commission report.

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Flanagan was stood down on full pay just two days before he was due to lead the side in their opening game of the season against Gold Coast.

His position will be filled by assistant coach Peter Sharp, a former Manly mentor, with former Brisbane Broncos CEO Bruno Cullen taking over as interim chief executive.

Club chairman Damian Irvine has been out of the country this week on business.

Cullen's wages will be partially funded by the NRL and he'll take control of a club in disarray ahead of a season for which they'd assembled a roster strong enough to contend for a top-four spot.

Ward said the decision to axe four members of staff and stand down Flanagan was due to "management issues" and not doping violations.

The move was taken after Kavanagh's review looked at May 2011 - the time the club employed controversial sports scientist Stephen Dank - who was asked to leave the Sharks by Givney later that year.

Dank, who moved on to work for AFL club Essendon, has subsequently been embroiled in the Australian Crime Commission and ASADA probe into the use of prohibited substances in Australian sport.

"The advice to the board arising from Dr Kavanagh's preliminary inquiries indicated there were management failures in the football department and other issues," Ward said.

"It is with great regret the board has taken this action but we make these decisions with the interest of our club going forward and the welfare of our playing group."

"Fans will be shocked, but the board thought this was the most appropriate course of action."

Ward said he was confident the team Flanagan named on Tuesday to face the Titans would take the field on Sunday evening.

Fourteen players have been offered full pay by the embattled club if they stand down for six months, in return for waiving their right to sue the Sharks over the drugs scandal.

The deal includes an automatic one-year extension with a repeat of any representative bonuses earned last year.

However, Ward said no player would be stood down by the club and they all had "unfettered presumption of innocence".

Flanagan had been coach of the club since late 2010 when he took over from Ricky Stuart.

He expressed surprise at the decision.

"I'm shattered," said Flanagan, who was questioned by ASADA officials on Friday.